Mary Gates, 64; Helped Her Son Start Microsoft

Published: June 11, 1994

SEATTLE, June 10—
Mary Gates, a prominent Seattle businesswoman who helped her son, William H. Gates 3d, get the contract that led to a lucrative relationship with I.B.M. for his fledgling Microsoft Corporation, died at her home early today. She was 64.

The cause was cancer.

Mrs. Gates had been scheduled to receive the Municipal League of King County's Citizen of the Year award today to honor her as an "exceptionally talented, civic-minded citizen."

"She is widely viewed as one of the strongest people in this community for getting things done," said Eileen V. Quigley of the league. "She's been active in the community for 20 years in a variety of ways."

Mrs. Gates was a director of several companies, including First Interstate Bancorp, U S West Inc. and KIRO-TV of Seattle.

She had been a regent at the University of Washington since 1975, the same year she became the first woman to serve as a director of First Interstate Bank and the first to serve as the president of the King County's United Way. She was later appointed to the board of the United Way of America; in 1983, she became the first woman to lead it. Right Time, Right Place

Her tenure on the national board's executive committee is believed to have helped Microsoft, based in Seattle, at a crucial time. In 1980, she discussed with John R. Opel, a fellow committee member who was the chairman of the International Business Machines Corporation, the business that I.B.M. was doing with Microsoft.

Mr. Opel, by some accounts, mentioned Mrs. Gates to other I.B.M. executives. A few weeks later, I.B.M. took a chance by hiring Microsoft, then a small software firm, to develop an operating system for its first personal computer.

The success of the I.B.M. P C gave Microsoft and its MS-DOS (for Microsoft Disk Operating System) a lift that eventually made it the world's largest software company for personal computers. Sales now exceed $3 billion.

Mrs. Gates's father, Willard Maxwell, was a vice president of Pacific National Bank, which later became First Interstate. Her husband, William H. Gates Jr., is a lawyer in Seattle.

In addition to her son and husband, Mrs. Gates is survived by two daughters, Kristianne Blake of Spokane, Wash., and Elizabeth Armintrout of Seattle, and four grandchildren.